The Rundown #4

Hey, welcome back to video games!

What a wild week! I'm currently still at Gamescom, to be more specific I'm currently standing at the train station Köln Deutz and writing this full of panic because most of the stuff I had planned for this week have not work out. OOOOOPS!
I thought news coverage, Gamescom appointments, a daily blog post and a daily podcast on top of meeting friends and party (+ a slight food poisoning) would be easy going because haha I'm just running with the vibe and everything turns out fine but noooope. Learned my lesson and will try to improve next year!
Anyways I met so many new cool people and friends for the first time it was worth every minute!

Gaming News Recap

Week 35 | August 21 - 28, 2026 | Edition 189

Rockstar addressed the leaks and finally showed some official game play, 'Terranigma' is officially back from the dead and there are way too many people at Gamescom! This week's news categories: Xbox [02], PlayStation [03], Nintendo [04], Other News [15], Numbers [02], TV & Cinema [00], Releases Infos [58].

Xbox

1. Xbox announced its Disc to Digital programm. Starting August 31^st for Insiders, most Xbox One/Series game will support it. Insert your disc and claim a digital version including XBOX Play Anywhere and Cloud Gaming.
2. CDPR games coming to Battle.net starting with 'The Witcher 3 Remastered'.

PlayStation

1. PlayStation Plus Essential games for September 2026: 'Sniper Elite: Resistance', 'MLB The Show 26', 'Wobbly Life', and 'Chained Echoes'
2. 'Silent Hill: Townfall' is a 6 month console exclusive on PS5.
3. 'Marvel's Wolverine' has gone Gold.

Nintendo

1. 'Orbitals' launched it's 2 player manual website!
2. New 'Mario Kart 8 Deluxe' free roam tracks from 'Mario Kart World' are now available on Nintendo Music.
3. James Turner rejoins The Pokémon Company!
4. Game Freak says the reason why 'Pokémon Champions' exists because the battle system in the Pokémon games have changed and will change in the future. They felt it wasn’t fair to say The battles have changed, so now please go play the new version,.

Other News

1. Konami says it wants 'Silent Hill' to become a series with yearly installments and is already working on many unannounced projects.
2. Thatgamecompany launches publisher arm Thatgamepublisher to fund emotionally ambitious projects up to AA budgets.
3. 'Persona 6' could launch next year. The official Sega website lists a physical PS5 version and as we know Sony decided to kill physical games at the beginning or 2028.
4. Nvidia’s controversial new DLSS 5 technology has leaked via the dll library in 'NBA 2K27' and players already turn every video game character they can find into a monstrosity.
5. Playdate maker Panic is refunding tariff fees back to customers. It's just not our money to keep, and it felt really good to give it back,
6. CDPR learned its lesson after 'Cyberpunk 2077' launch and has 'The Witcher 4' now running on all target platforms.
7. Rockstar broke its silence and published a statement adressing the leak.
8. Gamescom 2027 set for August 23-29.
9. Footage of Avalanche's cancelled 'Iron Man' surfaced online.
10. Creative Artists Agency spins up indie funding venture Frame1Games.
11. Focus Entertainment will publish 'CLUTCH!'
12. 'The Blood of Dawnwalker' is getting a 60 FPS performance mode on PS5, PS5 Pro and Xbox Series X on September 3^rd.
13. Double Fine announced a Kickstarter for Amnesia Fortnight 2026 - Indie Reboot! game jam, documentary and Kickstarter campaign.
14. 1047 Games has announced that 'Splitgate: Arena Reloaded' and 'Empulse' development has ended. Both games will receive peer-to-peer hosting on September 3^rd so they're still be playable.
15. Schell Games (Among Us 3D) reportedly lays off staff.

Numbers

1. 'Sentinel Girls' series has sold over 500k copies.
2. 'How to Fish' has sold 1M copies in 2 days.

Release Infos

1. 'Penguin Colony' launches October 8^th on PC.
2. 'Alien Deathstorm' launches Spring 2027 on Xbox Series, Game Pass, PS5 and PC.
3. 'What Goes Up' announced for Xbox Series, PS5 and PC.
4. 'SPINE - This is Gun Fu' launches Summer 2027 on Xbox Series, PS5 and PC.
5. 'CONQUISTA: Tide of Wills' announced for PC.
6. 'Scott Pilgrim EX' DLC Back in the Band & Coin-Op Chaos Update now available.
7. 'ETRE' announced for PC.
8. 'We Were Here Tomorrow' launches this October on Xbox Series, PS5 and PC.
9. 'PixelJunk Monsters 3' announced for PC.
10. 'Dungeons & Dragons: Long Rest Tavern' announced for PC.
11. 'Shadow of the Road' launches November 12^th on PC.
12. 'Greak 2: Alliance of the Storms' announced for XBS, PS5, Switch & PC.
13. 'Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2' launches October 14^th on Xbox Series, PS5 and PC.
14. 'Tropico 7' launches January 28^th on Xbox Series, PS5 and PC.
15. 'Holstin' launches in 2027 on Xbox Series, Game Pass, PS5, Switch and PC.
16. 'Usual June' launches October 28^th on PC.
17. 'Terrible Lizards' launches October 29^th on Xbox Series, PS5 and PC.
18. 'The Séance of Blake Manor' launches October 27^th on Xbox Series, Game Pass, PS5 and Nintendo Switch 1&2. Already on PC.
19. 'Joe & Mac Retro Collection' announced for Xbox Series, PS5, Switch 1&2 and PC.
20. 'Cassette Beasts 2002' launches March 2027 on Xbox Series, PS5, Switch 2 & PC.
21. 'Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered' Demo launches Oct. 15^th on PC.
22. 'Militsioner' launches in 2027 on Xbox Series, Game Pass and PC.
23. 'Volvy's Adventure: Reslimed' launches November 19^th on PC.
24. 'Neon Abyss 2' launches this Fall on Xbox Series, Game Pass, PS5 and Nintendo Switch. Already on PC.
25. 'Amphibian' announced for Xbox Series, PS5, Nintendo Switch and PC.
26. First-person narrative-driven horror breakup simulator 'Sweetheart' launches in 2027 on Xbox Series, PS5, Nintendo Switch and PC.
27. 'Donutal' launches September 3^rd on PC.
28. 'Bye Bye Bonnie' announced for PC.
29. Snoop Dogg is coming to 'Hitman WOA' as an elusive target. Runs from Aug. 27^th to Sep. 26^th!
30. 'The Witcher IV' targets a 2028 release window.
31. 'Exodus' launches April 7^th on Xbox Series, PS5 and PC.
32. 'Humankind 2' launches in 2027 on PC.
33. 'The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered' launches September 29^th. Free upgrade for previous owners.
34. 'The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt' DLC Songs of the Past launches in 2027.
35. 'Pony Island 2: Panda Circus' launches April 27^th on PC.
36. 'Rainbow Six Tactics' announced for Xbox Series, PS5 and PC.
37. 'Acornia: Mirror Worlds' announced for Xbox Series, PS5, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC.
38. 'Heroes of Might and Magic 3 Remake' announced for PC.
39. 'LEGO Skylines' announced for Xbox Series, PS5, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC.
40. 'Worms: Galactic Tactics' launches in 2027 on Xbox Series, PS5, Switch 2 and PC. A new (tradional) 'Worms' is also in development.
41. 'RollerCoaster Tycoon Wonderworks' announced for PC Early Access.
42. CLOWN TRIGGERFISH (Balistoides conspicillum) joins 'Planet Zoo 2'!
43. 'Pioneers of Pagonia' DLC Echoes of Aldramar launches September 23^rd on PC.
44. 'Console Archives BUBBLE BOBBLE' launches August 26^th on PS5 and Switch 2.
45. 'Alien Breed 35^th Anniversary Collection' launches in Sep. on XBS, PS5, Switch & PC.
46. 'Heavy Metal Death Can' coming to PS5 this fall. Already on PC.
47. 'Earth Defense Force 6.2: Invaders from Another World' launches in 2027 on PS5.
48. 'Carrier Command 2' announced for Xbox Series, PS5 and Nintendo Switch 1&2.
49. 'Knuckle Jet' launches September 1^st on PC.
50. 'Blasterbug: Last Bug Standing!' from Dotemu is out now on Steam and it's free!
51. 'Terranigma' launches in 2027 on Xbox Series, PS4/5, Nintendo Switch 1&2 and PC.
52. 'Ninja Jajamaru: Yokai Night Parade' announced for PS5, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC.
53. 'Well Dweller' launches Sep. 22^nd on XBS, Game Pass, PS5, Switch 1&2 & PC.
54. 'Maplestory Classic World' launches October 21^st.
55. 'Trine 6' delayed to March 4^th 2027.
56. 'Neverway' delayed to 2027.
57. 'Rizz Dungeon: Skeleton Key to My Heart' has been delayed to 2027.
58. 'Escape Academy 2' delayed to November.

Thank you for turning in this week and thanks for hanging around in general! So many people told me this week that they like my stuff and I couldn't be more thankful!
In case you missed it, we also have a Discord for gaming news and to hang around.

Have a nice weekend.

Written by Knoebel & edited by viaz with the help of reksveks